Non-essential shops, schools, bars and other public venues have been closed until at least 14 January.
There are strict limits on the number of people who can meet. A maximum of two guests, aged 13 and over, are allowed in people's homes. This will rise to four people between 24 and 26 December, and on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.
"It's too busy, but I'm coming before the Christmas holidays to pick up gifts, it seems like a new lockdown is coming," Ayman Massori told AFP news agency. It says the Omicron variant currently still accounts for a minority of coronavirus cases in the Netherlands, but is spreading rapidly.The head of the Dutch outbreak management team, Jaap van Dissel, said the new measures would "buy time", allowing more people to get booster shots and for the healthcare system to prepare for a possible rise in infections.
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